Stand Tall with SHUKR

Thursday, January 15, 2009

We often get questions from tall, slim women about what SHUKR size they might be, and what they can reasonably wear. As a 6' tall, 140 pound (that's 182.88cm and 63.5kg) rather thin person, I took it upon myself to research this question firsthand in the hopes of discovering for myself the best-fitting items for the ‘vertically gifted'. On my field trip to our small outlet in Kharabsheh, which sells imperfect items at discounted prices, I discovered several general principles and feel I can make some cautious recommendations.
As a disclaimer, everyone's body type is somewhat different, and though I am speaking as a tall person, you should take into consideration all of your particular measurements before making your decision about which size to buy for which garment. Though SHUKR sizes get bigger as they get longer, the style and the cut are things to take into consideration, as I found that some cuts were much more flattering on me than others.
Some of the garments that I tried on are not precisely well-stocked at the moment, so I'm also going to mention some very similar garments that the same ideas apply to, and are indeed in stock (as of the writing of this post).
Tops:
Generally speaking, all tops are the same in the bust, shoulders and sleeves. The waist and hips of the tops varies from style to style, but there is a certain minimum width that is maintained. And, if you look closely at the sleeve lengths for the models in the pictures, you will notice that the sleeves run a little longer than your average shirts in general-many times, to mid-hand or more. The following are examples of garments that I tried on, and the reasons why I found them to fit successfully.
I tried on the Nouria Tunic in medium (US, UK) which fit perfectly in the shoulders and sleeves. My arms are long, so I was ecstatic that the sleeve length was appropriate. This particular shirt bells out at the bottom, but what is really nice is that because of the gathered area in the front and back, it was flattering to my body type without being immodest:

This brings me to one of my main points about choosing shirts that are flattering for those of us shaped like marathon runners: there needs to be some sort of tailoring, pintucking, gores, pleating or gathering somewhere in the design of the shirt so that the fit is flattering. If I wear a shirt that is designed in a very simple way, it doesn't look as if it fits me correctly. It may appear to be cut too wide, especially in the bust. You should also consider the kind of fabric, as I found that the 100% cotton garments tended to exaggerate my build (but not always-especially if the design/cut is appropriate), whereas garments with a mixed fabric blends fell in a much nicer way.
Next, I tried on our Embroidered Duster Shirt (US, UK), which was a perfect fit in medium. It is nearly knee length (on me), and because of the general design of our button-down shirts, it still fits in a nice way. In addition, the embroidery is really beautiful:

Finally, I tried on the Long Modal Undershirt (US, UK) and loved it. It's like it was built with me in mind. A small fit perfectly, and it has great sleeve and body length. It's soft, stretchy and comfortable-perfect for layering in the winter:

In sum, go for a top that has some sort of tailoring in front, and any of our button-down shirts should look nice. Here is a small sample of tops that will likely be flattering to the tall and thin:
The Sundial Wrap Top (US, UK)
The Mimar Blouse (US, UK)
The Sina Blouse (US, UK)
The Sunshine Embroidered Top (US, UK)
The Viscose Work Blouse (US, UK)
The Afasa Dress Top (US, UK) -- see below:

Skirts and Pants:
Generally speaking, all the skirts and pants within their sizes are the same in the waist, hips, and length. It's the flair of the skirt or pant opening that varies. As for pants, I found that the medium is long enough, but the waist is potentially too small. If you are worried, go for a large and just get it hemmed. Or, stay with the medium, but look for an elasticized or partially elasticized waist. Since I'm currently expecting (nearly 4 months along) not much is fitting around my waist anyway, so this might be my bias. For the skirts, I tried on the Tulip Shaped Cotton Skirt (US, UK) in a large, and found that I had an extra inch at the waist, and it was too long! Imagine my shock when it hit the floor! This is because most tall and slim women have slim hips, which is the part that is supposed to hold up the skirt. Since this is the case, if you are built like me, do not worry about the length of skirts too much-either a medium or large should work. You can always get it hemmed if it is too long (bet you thought I wouldn't write something like that).

Dresses and Jilbabs:
Dresses and jilbabs are where the rubber meets the road when it comes to the tall and thin. I tried on size larges because adequate length was important to me. The trick is finding a certain style of dress that will also be flattering on top, because the top will naturally be a bit too large for my body type. As my mother would say, with my frame, it's best to choose garments that "have a shape." In addition, anything that we specify is ‘tailored' is going to have a bit slimmer cut. Here are two that I thought would be a good bet:
1. Wool Hooded Jilbab (US, UK) -- shown below:
2. Wool Blend Princess Dress (US, UK)

I hope this was helpful. In closing, here is a Hijab Haiku:
If you're thin and tall
Don't despair-look at hijabs
There, one-size-fits-all
To see our hijab section, click here: (US, UK)
~Beth, Blog Admin

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SHUKR: What We Believe In...

We Believe In 1

We believe in a world where the wisdom of the Divine helps to guide human conduct.

We Believe In 2

We believe in putting faith into fashion.

We Believe In 3

We believe that the beauty of women lies in the depth of their hearts and minds and that marketing shouldn’t exploit female physical beauty.

We Believe In 4

We believe that men express their inner dignity when they dress modestly.

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We believe not only in sweatshop free production but that workers should also be treated as human beings with feelings, a heart and spirit.

We Believe In 6

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We Believe In 7

We believe that the Divine is beautiful and loves beauty, and we try to make our clothes a reflection of this beauty.

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